Coal-handling bridge.



T. S. WATSON.

COAL HANDLING BRIDGE.

APPLICATION HLED AUG. I4, 1916.

1220,8040 Patented Mar. 27, 1917.

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T. S. WATSON.

Patented Mar. 27, 1917.

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THOMAS S. WATSON, 0F MILWAUKEE, WIECONSIN.

COAL-HANDLING BBID GE.

Application filed August 14, 1916.

To all whom it may concern.

Be it known that T, THOMAs S. VVATSON, a citizen of the United States, and resident of Milwaukee, in the county of Milwaukee and State of Wisconsin, have invented new and useful Improvements in Coal-Handling Bridges, of which the following is a description, referencebeing had to the accompanying drawings, which are a part or this specification.

This invention has for its object toprovide a coal handling bridge wherein the usual hoisting drum for raising and lowering the clam shell bucket is directly geared to the drum for opening and closing the bucket.

Another object of the invention is to provide a magnetic clutch for effecting the gearing connection between the drums, said clutch, the motors and electric brake being controlled by switch mechanism in an operators cab conveniently located on the bridge.

l Vith the above and other objects in view the invention consists in the coal handling bridge as herein claimed and all equivalents.

Referring to the accompanying drawings, in which like characters of reference indicate the same parts in the difierent views,

Figure 1 is a side elevation of a coal handling bridge constructed in accordance with this invention;

Fig. 2 is a plan view of the carriage'thereof with parts sectioned; and

Fig. 3 is a diagram of circuit connections for the distant control of the various electrically operated parts of the mechanism.

In these drawings 10 indicates the bridge structure of usual construction, and 11 the track thereof on which the bucket supporting truck or carriage 12 travels. The carriage is propelled by a racking motor 13 suitably positioned on the bridge structure and having a cable 14: wound around its drum with its two ends passing respectively around. idle pulleys 15 at the opposite ends of the bridge and connected with the ends of the carriage.

Mounted on the carriage 12 is a hoisting drum 16 and a closing drum 17 around which are wound the respective ends of a cable 18, the cable end depending from the hoisting drum 16 serving to suspend a clamshell bucket 19, while the cable end depending from the closing drum 17 connects with the opening and closing mechanism of such clam-shell bucket. The cable 18 after pass- Speeification of Letters Patent.

Patented Mar. 27, 1917.

Serial No. 114,736.

ing around the drums 16 and 17 extends in opposite directions in the line of travel of the carriage and around idle pulleys 20 to a vertical guideway in which a counterweight 21 travels, there being a pulley 22 on the counterweight receiving a loop of said cable 18 so that the clam-shell bucket is counterbalanced by the counterweight. For raising and lowering the clam-shell bucket provision is made for lowering and raising the counterweight, and as shown it consists of a hoisting motor 23 with a cable 24 wound around its drum passing around idle pulleys 25 at the top and bottom of the vertical guideway with its ends connected to the counterweight.

A cab 26 is suitably located on the bridge for the operator who controls the various motors by means of switches so as to cause the carriage to travel back and forth and to cause the clam-shell bucket to be raised and lowered. Uther electrical devices on the traveling carriage are also controlled from this cab by means of suitable trolley connections shown in the diagram. Thus an electrical brake 27 has a gearing connection 28 with the hoisting drum 16 and a small accelerating motor 29 has a gearing connection 30 with a large gear wheel 31 on the shaft of the closing drum 17, while another large gear wheel 32 loosely mounted on the shaft of the hoisting drum 16 and meshing with the gear wheel. 31 carries an electrical clutch 33 for coupling the hoisting drum 16 to said gear wheel 32, thus directly gearing together the drums 16 and 17 by means of said gears 32 and 31.

In operation the clanrshell bucket may be raised or lowered by the movements of the counterweight as previously explained, and as long as the hoisting drum remains geared to the closing drum both ends of the cable will move together so that the bucket remains opened or closed as thecase may be. Furthermore, the electrical brake 27 will be efi'ec'tive for holding the bucket in any position whether opened or closed, the gearing connection between the drums serving to make the brake effective for the closing drum as well as for the hoisting drum. The gearing connection between the drums may be rendered ineffective for this purpose, however, by releasing the magnetic clutch so that the magnetic brake is effective for the hoisting drum only to give slack to the closing end of the cable and permlt the bucket 2 V I I 1,220,804

to open when the magnetic brake is applied while the bucket is descending or to remove slack therefrom to close the bucket when the magnetic brake is applied while the bucket is being raised. The accelerating motor is provided to control the slack in the cable end during operation at high speed and serves to prevent the slack becoming excessive by speeding up the opening drum 17.

My means of this invention the clam-shell bucket is under the complete control of the operator in the stationary cab, and assurance is provided against unintentional opening and closing thereof. 7

What I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. In a coal handling bridge, a track, a carriage traveling on the track, independently operated drums on the carriage, a hoisting cable wound around one drum, a clam-shell suspended thereby, a closing cable connected with the clam-shell and wound around the other drum, and means for temporarily coupling the two drums together to maintain a fixed relation between the hoisting cable and the closing cable.

2. In a coal handling bridge, a track, a carriage traveling on the track, a pair of independent drums mounted on the carriage, a hoisting cable wound around one drum, a clam-"shell suspended thereby, a closing cable -wound around the other drum and connected with the clam-shell, and a magnetic-clutchcontrolled gearing connection between the two drums for coupling them together to maintain a fixed relation between the hoisting cable and the closing cable.

3. ,In a coal handling bridge, a carriage, independent drums on the carriage, a hoisting cable wound 'aroundone drum, a clamshell bucket suspended thereby, a closing cable wound around the other drum and connected with the clam-shell bucket, and a distantly controlled means for coupling the two drums together to maintain a fixed relation between the hoisting cable and the closing cable.

4. In a coal handling bridge, a carriage mounted to travel, independent drums on the carriage, a looped cable having its ends wound around the drums, one end forming a hoisting cable and the other end forming a closing cable, .a clam-shell bucket suspended by the hoisting cable and connected with the closing cable, a counterweight supported by the looped portion of the cable, a gearing connection between the drums, and a remote controlled electrical clutch in said gearing connection. 7,

5. In a coal handling bridge, a carriage mounted to travel, independent drums on the carriage, a looped cable having its ends wound around the drums, one end forming a hoisting cable and the other end forming a closing cable, a clam-shell bucket suspended by the hoisting cable and connected with the closing cable, a suitably operated counterweight supported by the looped portion of the cable, a gearing connection between the drums, at remote controlled electrical clutch in said gearing connection, and a brake for resisting the movements of one of the drums.

6. In a coal handling bridge, a carriage mounted to travel, independent drums on the carriage, a looped cable having its ends wound around the drums, one end forming a hoisting cable and the other end forming a closing cable, a clam-shell bucket suspended by the hoisting cable and connected with the closing cable, a suitably operated counterweight supported by the looped portion of the cable, a gearing connection between the drums, a remote controlled electrical clutch in said gearing connection, a brake for resisting the movements of the hoisting cable drum, and an accelerating motor for increasing the movement of the other drum.

7. In a coal handlin bridge, a track, a carriage traveling thereon, a pair of independent drums on the carriage, a hoisting cable wound around one drum, a clam shell suspended thereby, a closing cable wound around the other drum and connected with the clam shell, a cable loop between the two drums, a suitably operated counterweight suspended thereby, an electrical brake for retarding or stopping the movements of the hoisting drum, an electrical motor for accelerating the movements of the opening drum, a magnetic clutch for coupling the two drums together, parallel electrical conductors extending along the track, trolley connections on the carriage engaging the respective conductors and connected with the electrical brake, the accelerating motor and the magnetic clutch respectively, and a stationary operating cab on the bridge containing control switches connected with the various conductors for controlling the operation of the electrical brake, the accelerating motor and the magnetic clutch respectively.

Intestimony whereof, I afiix my signature, in presence of two witnesses.

THOMAS S. WATSON.

Copies 01. this patentlnay be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents,

7 Washington, D. 0. 

